Tuesday, 24 April 2012

As it often happens, whilst I'm waiting for one thing to bake, I then get the idea to bake something else. And well, most of the time my kitchen is accommodating and has everything I need so it's a bit of a no-brainer, I end up staying in the kitchen cooking up a storm. My last post mentioned a generous gift of Kit Kat bars that I received and why not use a few more Kit Kats whilst I'm at it?! This recipe will require three Kit Kat Chunky caramel bars for those interested (though nothing saying that you can't use more if you want) but I do think three is enough to make a mighty good cheesecake.

I do feel rather guilty whenever I eat a bar of these; so chopping them up and eating it sparingly in a cheesecake makes me feel slightly less guilty. There's no logic there but you get the gist of how my brain works.

I've tried making cheesecake base from scratch but no matter how many times I've tried, I find plain graham crackers/digestive biscuits always work a treat. It's stress relieving too - place 175g digestive biscuits in a plastic bag and crush them thoroughly with a rolling pin (be careful though - the bag can break!). Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Pour the crushed biscuits into a lined springform baking tin. Pour over 75g melted unsalted butter, mix and pat down firmly into the base of the tin. Chill in the fridge whilst you make the cheesecake filling.

A stand mixer comes in really handy at this point (this is my baby the boy gifted me for Christmas and I love it!) Beat together 450g softened cream cheese, 150g caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 4 eggs until the mixture is smooth.

Time to chop up those Chunky bars (and maybe eat a little bit whilst you're at it).

I lined the biscuit base with about 2/3 of the chopped Kit Kats, poured over the cream cheese mixture and then sprinkled the top with the remaining 1/3 chopped Kit Kats.

Bake for 50 minutes until the top is golden and there is only a slight wobble left to the cheesecake. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and loosening it from the tin.

And what are you waiting for? Dig in!

I think I might be slightly sugar overloaded on Kit Kats but I'll just say that this cheesecake is divine - the texture of the cheesecake light and the Kit Kats give the cheesecake great flavour and texture. I wish someone had told me earlier that I could bake with Kit Kats! Ah well, not too late now, still a few more Kit Kat bars on the kitchen bench for me to experiment with.

Monday, 23 April 2012

With Anzac Day coming up, it only seems fitting to post up my favourite Anzac biscuit recipe; this is a recipe which I've used time and time again and has always worked a treat. I did jazz it up a little this time though as being the lucky person that I am, I was recently gifted with a fair few Kit Kat bars. Not wanting to feel like a glutton chomping away on them, it only made sense to try and bake with them. Anzac biscuits were on the agenda so made perfect sense to throw in some Kit Kats to see how they would go. I tell you now dear reader, they are the best!

Wearing gloves, roll out balls of the mixture and place onto lined baking trays. Flatten the balls of mix slightly, remembering to allow room on the trays for the biscuits to spread.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

Take note that the biscuits will be very soft when they come out of the oven but will harden as they cool down. Leave on the trays until they are ready to move onto a wire rack. Makes about 20-25.

This Anzac biscuit recipe is my favourite because it has a crunchy outer and slightly chewy centre which is how I think all Anzac biscuits should taste (the ones you get at the supermarkets are usually crunchy all the way through which I never think is quite right). And well to top that off, add the sweet chocolatey-goodness of Kit Kats and the extra crunch from the wafer inner and you have the perfectly crunchy yet chewy Anzac biscuit for Anzac Day. Have a good Anzac Day everyone! Enjoy the break (and well, why not have some Kit Kats in your Anzac biscuits!)

about me

Hi there! I'm Jenny (aka panda - so named after a friend thought she looked like a panda that was on this piece of toast - long story but she will tell you if you ask). Panda loves cakes in particular but has a passion for food in general.